FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT ATLANTIC HIGH SCHOOL - PAGE 5

The city has purchased the last piece of land needed for building a new home for Atlantic High School. City commissioners approved purchase of the property this week in the Breezy Ridge neighborhood for $156,000. The purchase settled the city's eminent domain suit against the landowners, Lester and Shirley Martin. The estimated 35 families in Breezy Ridge, next to Temple Sinai on West Atlantic Avenue, must move by the end of October so the city can transfer the land to the Palm Beach County School District, which plans to start building the new school at the site next summer.

Six Palm Beach County students were awarded $1,000 scholarships on Wednesday by the county property appraiser's office. The scholarships are financed by employee donations from casual dress days throughout the year. The winners are: Daniel Torres of Atlantic High School, who will attend the University of Miami; Nadege Touzin of Atlantic High, for the University of South Florida; Kimberly Wu of Atlantic High, for the University of Florida; Latisha Jones of Pahokee High School, for USF; Lynda Dirk of Lake Worth High School, for UF; and Genevieve Jahn of Dreyfoos School of the Arts, for Rollins College.

The parents of an Atlantic High School student injured in 1989 when she was hit by a discus filed a lawsuit on Thursday against the Palm Beach County School Board. Johnny and Yvone Shannon, parents of Fredricka Shannon, filed the lawsuit in Palm Beach County Circuit Court. They seek more than $15,000 in damages. The lawsuit says Fredricka Shannon was injured attending a track and field practice at the Delray Beach school. It accuses the School Board of negligence for failing to supply adequate supervision while students were using the equipment.

A judge on Thursday issued a warrant for the arrest of a former Atlantic High School science teacher who apparently has fled the area as his case on charges of molesting seven students was being scheduled for trial. Prakash Pathmanathan, 33, who was free on $5,000 bond pending his trial on charges of lewd assault and battery, has not been in contact with his attorney, Michael Dubiner, in three weeks. Dubiner, who sought to withdraw from the case citing a lack of communication with his client, said he has done everything he can to reach Pathmanathan.

As part of a student exchange, Atlantic High School in Delray Beach is sending 24 students to Europe for three weeks, beginning Nov. 9. Twelve students will travel to Lignon, France and 12 will go to Logrono, Spain. They will take classes related to their courses at Atlantic. The classes will be taught in French and Spanish to enhance the students` foreign language skills. The trip is being organized by School Partnerships International, a division of the National Association of Secondary School Principals.

WPEC Ch. 12 will sponsor a kickoff party tonight to begin a coupon book fund-raiser for public and private schools in Palm Beach County and four other counties. School principals, coupon book volunteers and School Board members plan to attend. The drill team from Atlantic High School in Delray Beach and cheerleaders from Santaluces High School in Lantana and Palm Beach Gardens High School will perform. The "Helping Our Kids" coupon book is an effort to raise money for public and private schools.

A 16-year-old boy who was swimming in an unsupervised area of the city's public beach drowned Sunday afternoon after being swept under by a rip current, police said. Quesly Compere, an Atlantic High School junior, was swimming with friends at about 3:15 when some passers-by noticed him floating face down in the water, said Lt. Marc Woods, Delray Beach police spokesman. The boy did not have a pulse when lifeguards pulled him from the choppy surf, and he later died at Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, Woods said.

DELRAY BEACH -- Two 16-year-olds were charged with armed burglary and possession of burglary tools after they were caught at Atlantic High School early Wednesday. Police were called to the school when a burglar alarm sounded. They saw the band/chorus room had been ransacked. The teens were found hiding in the room about 2:40 a.m. The teens were carrying a pair of nunchuks, a blow torch, pliers, gloves, a knife and a flashlight, police said. The teens told police they had intended to steal a computer.

The Delray Beach Drug Task Force will hold three meetings with residents to discuss drug problems in the community. The citizens` task force has identified four ways to attack the problems: with leadership, education, drug treatment and law enforcement. The meetings will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Carver Middle School, 301 SW 14th Ave.; on Thursday at Pompey Park, 1101 NW Second St.; and on March 25 at Atlantic High School, 2501 Seacrest Blvd. For information, call 243-7000. The discussion at Carver Middle School will be translated into Creole for members of the Haitian community.

Student singers from Atlantic High School in Delray Beach will perform at a nearby church on Sunday. The Eagleaires will sing at 3 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, 33 Gleason St., west of State Road A1A, south of Atlantic Avenue. Under the direction of Jacquelyn Staples, choral director at Atlantic High, the students will perform songs from popular musicals written by such Broadway legends as George Gershwin and Andrew Lloyd Webber. For information, call the church at 276-6338.